Tag: Empty Nesters

Posted in Musings and Mutterings

My Furry Children

Posted on by Sharon

Hello blog! Long time, no write. Without being overly obvious, I sure have done a sucky job keeping up with this lately.

And there is just SO MUCH to talk about. Which might be a good thing, because I can’t really bitch that there isn’t anything to talk about, eh?

First off, let’s harken back to July, when I adopted two small kittens. They aren’t so small anymore. Sally looks like a normal sized cat, but Scout? Well, he’s gonna be a big fellow.

Sally
Sally helps me work
Scout helps with the laundry
Scout helps with the laundry

These two are the SWEETEST cats on the planet. Scout actually asks you to pick him up and WANTS you to kiss him. Sally just wants to be touched or touching you. I’ve been so blessed with cuddly, loving kitties.

After I got these two, I decided I should just go ahead and replace all my grown human children with furry children.

And so… I’ve added my last furry family member for a bit. Meet Sam!

Sammy!
Sammy!

Sam is a 13 week old… well… we aren’t really sure what Sam is, other than canine. He’s a bit of a mix, looking like he might be Shepherd and Lab, or something. The only thing we can tell is he’s going to be big. He was 20 lbs at his first vet appointment. He also has some interesting brindle markings. It doesn’t matter, he’s just the best boy ever. He’s almost housebroken (… alllllmost) and we couldn’t have gotten a sweeter boy if we’d ordered one specially made for us. He’s smart and cute and we are both madly in love with him.

And don’t forget, we still have Piper!

She looks thrilled, doesn't she?
She looks thrilled, doesn’t she?

Two boys and two girls; just like their human counterparts.  My daughter (the Piper equivalent) posted a comment on Facebook that said, “Does anyone else think Mom and Dad have a case of empty nest syndrome?”

Well, maybe I did. But not anymore. I’ve got plenty of activity and lots of love and good energy all around me now. Happy camper, me!

Posted in Musings and Mutterings

Downsizing to a Larger House?

Posted on by Sharon

We’ve signed contracts for the new house, signed a contract of sale for the current home, and we have home inspections and appraisals to complete. Once that’s finished and when all goes well, we’ll be moving. Everyone seems very happy and they all want to congratulate us on our move, but I’m still hesitant and not sure why.

Although my house is in tip-top shape and should appraise well, it’s just not done. And if it isn’t done, it isn’t done. So, I’m not all agog with excitement just yet, but honestly it’s all there bubbling just beneath the surface.

When people ask me where I’m moving to and ask about the new house, our common answer is to say we are downsizing to a bigger house, and we are. Our current home has about 1800 finished square feet, while the new house has 4500.

You gasped, didn’t you.. I heard you gasp!! That’s the typical response. It runs through everyone’s head. Why the hell are these two empty-nesters moving to a bigger house?!

We like space? The final frontier? I dunno. I think the difference is that the house we currently own has a bunch of bigger rooms, but not a real good flow for the living space. The new house has smaller bedrooms, but a better amount of open living space. That and there is a lovely loft for my office. I’m liking that part. My work can be upstairs, out of everyone’s hair and view and I can go up there and not worry about it. In some ways, I think my work is too accessible right now. It’s in a bedroom just next to mine and it takes nothing to climb out of bed and drop right into the chair. Maybe climbing the steps to a loft will help me to separate my “life” from my “work”.

We also like a home that brings the outside in. Our new home has lots of windows and sliders and I’m looking forward to opening them all up to the spring breezes.

And finally, we love the people we love and want to be able to have them over and enjoy visits from our children with their spouses and our grandchildren. We are dubbing this house “Camp Nini”. A large enough place to have kidlets come and play, in a safe yard, with a play house and a pool and some tree swings. Heck… I want to swing on the tree swings. In fact, just writing this makes me realize that I’m falling into the normal thought process of aging and what’s “right” for a certain time frame of your life. PHOOEY!! I’ve never been like that and I refuse to be so now.

I’m going to have fun in my new house. I’m going to revel in the open-ness of it. I’m going to enjoy the space. I’m going to run through it playing hide and seek with the kids. With the tile floors, water battles won’t be a problem. I’m going to mold this house into a place that screams “SHARON LIVES HERE”.
(And hubby, too.) I’m going to love this place and enjoy it and when I’m done, I’m going to pass it along to the next person who sees the value in a bit of extra space.